Wilbur-Ellis Co. continued to process contaminated shipments, which Nature Balance unwittingly distributed, the pet-food company claims in Superior Court.

The lawsuit invokes the words of Sir Walter Scott: "Recollect that the Almighty, who gave the dog to be companion of our pleasures and our toils, hath invested him with a nature noble and incapable of deceit." In the next sentence, Nature Balance points out that Wilbur-Ellis "displayed just the opposite nature and as a result pets across the country died and were sickened."

Nature Balance demands actual and punitive damages for its economic losses and severe damage to its reputation.